County Durham killer driver robbed heartbroken wife of ‘best friend and future’ in horror smash

"It's just so hard to accept that he's gone."

Those are the words of a devastated mum who is hoping to finally get justice after a driver from County Durham ^[1] admitted killing her husband and two others in a horror smash in 2021.

Carl Simpson, from Glebe Close, in Fishburn, pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of three people by dangerous driving at a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court ^[2] on Wednesday, including Mike Phelan. The crash took place on April 18, 2021, on Romney Road, in Kent.

Angie Phelan, 46, said: "When police knocked at my door, they told me the car had caught fire when Mike was still inside. I couldn't even see him before the funeral because his injuries were too severe.

"I just wish Mike hadn't put his life in Carl's hands that day," she added.

Mike had been working away in Kent as a painter/blaster, when he met defendant Carl Simpson, and another of the crash victims, Jack, reports Hull Live ^[4].

She said that on April 18, they decided to go for a drink at a local pub, and planned to get a lift home later on. However, Simpson decided he would drive the three of them home in his white BMW M135i, and later crashed into a black Dacia Duster Ambiance, driven by health care assistant and much-loved grandma, Sharon Haywood, who also tragically died.

Although Simpson was the only survivor of the crash, he was airlifted to hospital for treatment to serious injuries.

Angie added: "It destroyed us all, and it's just so hard to accept that he's gone.

"We then had the pain of Simpson not admitting to killing the three of them, despite the overwhelming evidence that he was driving dangerously. Two years after the crash, just before the case was about to go to trial, he suddenly changed his plea to guilty."

When Simpson appeared at Canterbury Crown Court on Wednesday he was told he would be remanded in custody until the next hearing and a prison sentence was "inevitable".

From left: Dylan, Leoni, Angie, Mike and Shannon (Image: Angie Phelan)

Judge Simon James, the recorder of Canterbury, asked for a pre-sentence report and ordered that Simpson be remanded in custody. He said: "An immediate sentence of imprisonment is inevitable. In those circumstances I ought to remand the defendant in custody until sentence."

Simpson's barrister, Tom Doble, asked that his bail be extended on mental health grounds, given that he was also seriously injured in the crash. He also asked the court to allow him opportunity to put his affairs in order and say goodbye to his wife and three children before he is sent to prison.

The judge denied the request, and Simpson was taken into custody until his sentencing hearing on June 29. The bail request made by Simpson's lawyer was a huge source of anger for Angie.

"When I heard the request, I couldn't quite believe it," Angie continued. "Why should he have the opportunity to say his goodbyes?

"I didn't, Jack's pregnant girlfriend didn't, and neither did Sharon's family and friends. It was a huge kick in the teeth to say that in front of us, when we are going through a pain he can't imagine.

"If he had genuine remorse, he would have owned up in the first place. However, I am so pleased my family don't have to relive the details of Mike's death in a trial and hear Simpson's defence."

Mike, 48, had met Angie in Saltshouse Tavern, Hull in 2015, after the pair caught each other's eye across the bar. They married only 20 months before his death and were inseparable.

Mike Phelan, 48, was killed in a car crash on April 18, 2021 (Image: Angie Phelan)

Mike was dad to Shannon, aged 30, and Jordan, 23, and stepdad to Dylan, aged 24, and Leoni, 20. "Our family fit together perfectly," Angie continued.

"My kids absolutely loved him, and I treated his children like my own. Mike was the most funny and crazy man ever.

"You would meet him for five minutes and it would be like you'd known him for a lifetime. He was an amazing storyteller, he loved music, he had the funniest dance moves- he was just the life of the party."

Angie was looking forward to a future of travelling the world with her husband, and they had even bought a van to fix up into a campervan. "We had plans to go to Ireland, Italy and were planning a honeymoon on a Caribbean cruise," she said.

"Life is now just an existence because my best friend and future were robbed from me. On some days, I just want it to be over so I can reunite with him once again."

Through the turmoil, Angie has relied on her family and friends, and has shared a close bond with Jack's girlfriend, who now has a little girl. "It has pulled us all together but apart at the same time," Angie said.

"I should have met these people through happy circumstances, not through tragedy. That little girl now has to grow up without a dad because of Carl Simpson."

Mike has also left behind his dad, Luke, who has been devastated to have buried his son. Angie said he was "shattered to pieces" at losing Mike, who he shared a close bond with.

The couple's two dogs, Murphy and Stanley, had only been in the family for six months, but were Mike's "babies", and miss him dearly. The Phelan family will travel back to Kent at the end of next month for Simpson's sentencing.

"Nothing will ever be enough to bring Mike back, but I hope we get some form of justice after all this time," Angie said.

References

^{^} County Durham (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
^{^} Canterbury Crown Court (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
^{^} Teenager appears in court charged with murder of 'much-loved' grandad in Wheatley Hill (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
^{^} reports Hull Live (www.hulldailymail.co.uk)